Location Update: SUU to Host 9/11 Tribute

UPDATE: An alternate location has been selected, given current weather conditions. The 9/11 tribute will now be held in the lobby of the Hunter Conference Center, just outside of the Great Hall.

On Tuesday, September 11, Southern Utah University will host a flag and taps ceremony in observation of Patriot Day, marking it as a solemn occasion of remembrance, reflection and service. Members of the community are invited to join SUU students, faculty and staff in memorializing the events of September 11, 2001 ,in this special tribute.

The ceremony will begin at 11:15 a.m., where participants will gather around the Carter Carillon bell tower near SUU’s Old Main building. SUUSA President Ryan Horlacher will offer welcome remarks and the Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Caroline Brown, president of the Cedar City Rotary Club.

As a prelude to the flag ceremony which will be performed by the Southern Utah University ROTC, the National Anthem will be sung by SUU music student Corbin Iverson. A taps duet by Christie Gifford and Trevor Walker, also of SUU’s Music Department, will follow. A narrative will then be read by Cedar Middle School student Hannah Klassen.

In what is sure to be a stirring tribute, members of Cedar City’s law enforcement, fire department, EMT and military service organizations will release balloons into the sky in honor of the 9/11 first responders.

This year’s tribute is the first of what is set to become an annual tradition at SUU, sponsored by the university’s Community Engagement Center. The center has organized several service projects to take place throughout the week in observation of America’s National Day of Service and Remembrance, a second designation ascribed to September 11 by Congress in 2009.

Residents of the area are invited to join SUU students in a community-wide service project beginning at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, September 11. Participants will gather in the parking lot at 200 South and 300 West to pick up supplies and then disperse across campus to repaint curbs and fire hydrants in need of a fresh coat. The project will conclude with pizza and drinks for all volunteers.